April 6 2012 : Keeping With the Season, Occupy Faith and the IRS

You wonder if the “get a jobbers” (one of the most frequent slams used on Occupiers), who value
getting to work on time, will fully appreciate Occupy
Transit. As the era's mania for privatization and incessant
cutbacks extends to transit systems across the United States,
commuters and worker bees everywhere deal with fare hikes and service
reductions.

In
general, Occupy continues to diversify, bringing its participatory
approach and tactics to various issues and venues. As religious
holidays begin today, Occupy Faith
emerges with a declaration of intent (Prophets over Profits), calling
itself “a subcommittee
of the Occupy Wall Street movement bringing together religious
leaders from all communities and denominations committed to equality,
liberation, fairness, sanctity and mutual respect.” Huffpost

Occupiers focus on protecting the public infrastructure and interest,
Higher Education and the public university systems, which, like
public transport, faces higher fees, increased debt and reduced aid.
The push to focus on higher education is not mere altruism. Working
at McDonald's and other low wage jobs typically does not offer
Occupiers joining the workforce the ability to pay down debt and
become the good consumers society urges them to be.

In Canada a group of students known as the “Ontario and Quebec
Students for a Free Education” occupy the Canadian Ed minister's
office. Toronto.mediacoop.ca
features a detailed article along with audio interview of one of the
activists.

The thrust toward protecting education transcends national borders,
as just South, Occupy Utica takes a similar approach. Uticaod.com

Huffpost
also features long-time media activist and social critic Danny
Schecter, author of seminal TV news analysis The
More You Watch, the Less You Knowand now Occupy :
Dissecting Occupy Wall Street. Schecter says tax season means
its high time for “Occupy the IRS,” given the fact that most of
America's top companies pay more in CEO compensation than they do in
taxes, while off-shoring thousands of jobs.

At
the colleges themselves, Occupy remains a hot topic, as cerebral
students frequently have more time and inclination to debate the
theoretical aspects of the Occupy presence. Occupy takes it on the
chin today from a freshman civil engineering student at Drexel who
claims the group's Spring promise remains unfulfilled.Thetriangle.org

However, further North, a second
freshman scribe urges fellow Yalies to come out and defend the
movement. Yale
Daily News

Wells Fargo,
like many big banks, remains a big Occupy target : a street theater
performance of The Fat Cat in the Hat : A Wells Fargo Unfair-y Tale.
Organizers of the performance said it is meant to chronicle the
group's campaign against “the harm done to this city” by the
bankers. The performance, which took place in front of three Center
City branches dovetails with an Occupy Philly claim brought against
the bank to the Pennsylvania Human Rights Commission. The group says
using children's language to describe the bank's misdeeds is a good
counter to the arcane financial contract language that
disproportionately roped in African-Americans into their mortgage
schemes. Philly.com

Equally
theatrical, if slightly less child-like, are the 11 Occupy
Portland activists
(three men and eight women) who bared their breasts to the public
with targeted radiation symbols painted on them. The 11 were doing a
promo/dry run for the group's upcoming protest of the Hanford Nuclear
Power plant, slated for later this month.Wweek.com

Speaking of the big banks, it's
well known they love to merge, acquire each others troubled assets,
etc. Occupy DC gets into the act with McPherson Sq's Occupy Camp
merging with Freedom Plaza. Washington
Post

As
noted, there is continual tension between the Occupy physical
presence (camping, basically) and other, more creative initiatives.
Busted encampments lead to long legal tie-ups for those who endure
arrest and being brought trial. Along this line, Occupy
Tulsa gets
the word from the judge that their case won't be dismissed.Tulsaworld.com

Occupy
Louisville, which
has been the scene of controversial altercations between
demonstrators and police, and now allegedly each other, has been
given an order to vacate by April 13. Protesters so far say they will
comply.Couriertoday.com

Even as we say it, finally,
here is Occupy Salt Lake City celebrating their six month
anniversary, despite a long winter and subsequent relocation.
Organizers say the opportunity to “model new communities” by
meeting people in a physical space is “part of the magic.”
desertnews.com